The East Riding Festival of Words will be returning this October with several best-selling authors in attendance.
Organised by East Riding Libraries, the Festival programme has been put together by librarians from the service, based on authors, poets and other creative writers who are popular with library members and customers.
This year, there are even more events happening, featuring more authors, workshops and activities than ever before.
Friday, 11 October at North Bridlington Library:
- 11am – The Big Read, with the special guest this year being Milly Johnson. A bestselling author, Milly is one of the top 10 female fiction authors in the UK.
- 1pm – Glenda Young and Mollie Walton in conversation with Val Wood, discussing their romantic historical fiction novels.
- 3pm – Bridget Collins, author of number one bestseller The Binding, will come along to speak about her new book, The Silence Factory – a story of complicity, desire, and corruption.
Saturday, 12 October at Beverley Memorial Hall:
- 10am – Crime writer, screenwriter and director, Tim Sullivan. Best known for his critically acclaimed crime series featuring the socially awkward but brilliantly persistent DS George Cross.
- 11:30am – will be bestselling authors Erin Kelly and Ruth Ware, as they discuss psychological thrillers and the reasons we find them so very captivating.
- 1.30pm – J R Ellis, the author of the Yorkshire Murder Mystery series. In conversation with Nick Quantrill, he’ll be discussing his crime stories set in the landscapes of Yorkshire.
- 3pm – Louise Swanson to discuss her latest novel, Lights Out.
Sunday, 13 October at Haltemprice Library:
In two separate author events, we will be joined by David Kynaston and David Horspool.
- 2pm – David Kynaston will be speaking about his latest book, Richie Benaud’s Blue Suede Shoes: an insight into the Ashes test of 1961.
- 3.30pm – David Horspool, editor for the Times Literary supplement, speaks about his book More Than a Game: a slice of social history that traces the links between our passion for sport and various forms of social change.
Monday, 14 October at Willerby Library:
- 7pm – Robert Gildea, professor emeritus of modern history at the University of Oxford. Robert will be talking with Ian Clayton about his book, The Backbone of Britain: an insight into the mining communities of the UK that were affected by the largest strike in British history.
Wednesday, 16 October at Goole Library:
- 7:30pm – Robin Ince, A multi award winning comedian, author, broadcaster, bibliomaniac and a populariser of scientific ideas, he is perhaps best known as the co-host and co-creator of the Sony Gold Award winning BBC Radio 4 series The Infinite Monkey Cage with Professor Brian Cox.
Thursday, 17 October at Pocklington Arts Centre:
- 7.30pm – Marc Burrows, discusses the Magic of Terry Pratchett. Based on his Locus Award-winning biography and officially endorsed by the author’s estate, explore Pratchett’s life, influences, impact, wit and wisdom.
Friday, 18 October at Withernsea Library:
- 1.30pm – Greg Loades, A.K.A the Hull Urban Gardener. Greg is the author of The Modern Cottage Garden, The 30-Minute Gardener and the National Trust Gardener’s Almanac 2024 and 2025.
Friday, 18 October at Hornsea Hub:
- 2pm – Kokedama Workshop, facilitated by Botany Boutique. Kokedama translates to ‘moss ball’ and is an ancient Japanese practice that transforms plants into living art.
Saturday, 19 October at Beverley Memorial Hall– Sci-Fi and Fantasy Day:
- 10am – Sarah Brooks and Frances White will chat about their novels, The Cautious Traveller’s Guide to the Wastelands and Voyage of the Damned with Abi Whitaker from The Debut Digest.
- 11.30am – Joanne Harris, bestselling author of Chocolat, talks fairytales, myths, magic, peril and true love in her latest book, The Moonlight Market.
- 2pm – New York Times bestselling author Jasper Fforde tells all about his 17th novel, Red Side Story, the much-anticipated follow up to Shades of Grey.
- 4pm – Sunday Times #1 bestselling author, Natasha Pulley discusses her latest novel, The Mars House.
A new addition to the festival is ‘Where the Wild Things Grow’: an entire day dedicated to gardening.
Sunday, 20 October at Burton Constable Hall and Gardens:
- 10.30am – Leigh Johnstone, A.K.A the Beardy Gardener. A theatre director turned award-winning garden designer and broadcaster who rediscovered his passion for plants during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- 11.45am and 2:15pm – Terrarium workshopswill be happening on the day.
- 1pm – UK Houseplant Doctor, Joe Bagley. Joe, who has a feature on BBC’s Gardener’s World, will tell us about his journey to becoming THE HOUSEPLANT DOCTOR™, how his love of plants developed, his plant journey so far and the process of writing his first book.
- 3.30pm – Philippa Forrester discusses her book, Wild Women. Her career as a presenter spans three decades of primetime TV, including much-loved series like Robot Wars and Tomorrow’s World. As an author, Philippa has published six books to date, including Wild Woman, Amazing Animal Journeys and On the Trail of Wolves.
Anyone who purchases a day or author event ticket will also be able to attend a free parkland tour with the Burton Constable rangers at various times throughout the day.
Councillor Nick Coultish, East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s cabinet member for leisure and tourism, said:
‘’It’s wonderful to see the return of the Festival of Words to the East Riding. This popular festival highlights some of the brightest literary stars and we are delighted to share this celebration of literature with our community.’’
Tickets for all events are on sale now at: www.festivalofwords.co.uk or by calling 01482 392699 during office hours.
Please note that booking is essential for all events.
